Wednesday, April 1, 2009

The Pinch Buying Guide

Each year I get hundreds of emails asking for gift ideas. I'm addressing them all via this post. It's early yet (267 days until Christmas) but with wedding season in the offing this should be useful.

These are basic kitchen essentials, things everyone with a kitchen must have. If your house didn't come with a kitchen go down to the crawl space (the space between the ground and your house) and count the axles. It's possible you've been living in your car. If there is no crawl space and your house is constructed using reverse-combi technology, you could be living in your tent (by choice, or circumstance). If you built your house out of bricks and the government forced you to take TARP money and it's adversely affecting your business model, you should return the cash and throw a lavish party in celebration. For everyone else, get shopping!

$20 and under
Belgian Waffle Stand
Heavy Duty Dough Docker Roller (shown above left; photo courtesy Chefs Catalog)
Cut Resistant Glove

$20-$50
Stainless-Steel Egg Cooker
Roast Cutting Tongs
Mini Scone pan
Mango Splitter and Peeler Set

$100-$150
Dual Zone Deep Fryer
Rechargeable Electric Corkscrew
Buccaneer Grill and Cooler Travel Tote

$200-$300
Penguin Soda Maker
Heineken Beer Tender

$400-$500
Windchaser Portable Ice Maker
Professional Electric Food Slicer

$500 and up
4-Rack Digital Smoker
Wine Saver PRO and Wine Saver HOME

2 comments:

Jessica Paul said...

The Penguin soda maker is at the tippy TOP of my wish list. My friend has it and it makes the most delish seltzer ever!! Do you have one?!

Katie Fairbank said...

I'm not a fan of selzer, tho my friends who are report owning a Penguin has helped them cut way back on trashing, err...recycling, loads of empty selzer bottles.